Auxiliary inking attachment for printing presses



0. R. WOLF July 14, 1936.

AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Aug. 22, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 14, 193 6. 0. R WOLF 2,047,605

AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Aug. 22, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 14, 1936. R wo 2,047,605

AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Aug. 22, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 July 14, 1936. r o. R. WOLF 2,047,605

AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Aug. 22, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 fay-06.1%

0. R. WOLF July 14, 1936.

AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Aug. 22, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES AUXILIARY INKING ATTACHMENT FOR t hm RINTING PBESSES Otto a. We a, Oak Park, ni., assignor a The Tribune Conipany, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 22, 1931, Serial No. 558,714

9 Claims.

particularly to an auxiliary inking mechanism adapted for use on newspaper printing presses.

In newspaper printing presses each printing couple is ordinarily provided with its separate ink fountain, the ink being carried upwardly from the fountain to the printing cylinder of the couple by a series of ink rollers, the lowermost of which engages the fountain roller and serves as an ink carrier for supplying ink to the next following roller of the series, In newspaper presses it is the standard practice to use an overshot ink fountain, it having been found that with a fountain of the under-shot type great difficulty is experienced in keeping the ink from leaking out between the knife and the fountain roller.

It is frequently desired to print a portion of the web in a color other than black. However, since the over-shot fountain is not machine-finished, it is impossible to insert a dividing partition to hold the color in thatportion of the fountain which is adjacent the section of the web which is to receive the color. It is therefore necessary to remove the black ink from the whole length of the fountain. This procedure is timeconsuming and expensive, largely because of the difiiculties encountered in properly cleaning a fountain of the over-shot type.

One of the important objects of my invention is to provide an auxiliary inking attachment which may be readily applied to one of the black units of the press to permit color printing of a portion of the width of the web without requiring the use of the regular ink fountain of the couple.

Another object of the invention is to provide a narrow width inking attachment having mounting means which permits of its adjustment to the particular part of the web to which it is desired to have the color applied.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inking attachment of the character referred to which may be easily detached and transferred to different units of the press.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which taken in connection with the accorrfpanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a broken side elevational view of a pair of adjacent printing units, the couples of which are provided with mounting means for receiving the inking attachment, the latter being 1 w therefor;

This invention relates to printing presses and- Fig. 3 is a section through the attachment taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the attachment removed from its supporting means;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through 5 the fountain portion of the attachment; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the means for driving the fountain roller of the attachment.

Referring to the general view of the press shown in Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates the 10 base portion of the press frame which affords a support for vertical frame parts 8 and 9, the latter being connected at their upper ends by a top bar H. It will be understood that this frame structure is duplicated on each side of the press. Printing units, designated generally by the numerals i2 and H, are supported in the frame parts 8 and 9, respectively. Each of these units consists of a pair of printing couples, the couples for unit i 2 being indicated by-numerals l4 and i5, and those for unit I3 being indicated by numerals l6 and ii. The impression cylinders of the units are driven. through power take-oil? shafts IS, the upper ends of which connect through bevelled gear wheels I9 and 2t with spur wheels 22, the latter being carried on the impression cylinder shafts of the individual couples. The printing cylinder shafts carry spur wheels 23 which mesh with wheels 22 to provide a positive drive for the printing cylinders. Power is supplied to take-off shafts l8 from any suitable source, being derived, as shown, from a main power shaft which extends lengthwise of the press underneath the frame and which connects with the shafts i8 through bevelled gear wheels 25 and 26.

Each of the couples M, I5, l6, and I1, is provided with an ink fountain 21 which is supported on the press frame and which extends across the full width of the press. These fountains are of the standard over-shot type construction, the ink therein being carried upwardly from a fountain roller 22 to ink drums 29 and thence to .intermediate ink rollers which transfer it directly to the plate cylinders of the couples, Inasmuch as the construction and arrangement of the ink rollers and the ink drums is well known, it will not be described in detail. The ink drums 2Q carry gear wheels at which mesh with gears 32,

the latter in turn meshing with gears 33 carried on the spindles of the printing cylinders. Foun tain rollers 23 are driven from gear wheels 3i through a system of intermediate gears 32, 35,' and 36.

The general arrangement of the printing units above described, and the inking mechanism therefor, may be considered typical of the present-day unit type press. Normally, the several units of a press of this type are arranged to print in black. the web being threaded through w the different units in desired manner according to the page arrangement desired for any particular run of the press. If it were desired to have one sideof the web, or a portion thereof, printed in a color other than black, it would be necessary to completely remove the black ink from one of the fountains 21 and replace it with the ink of the desired color. This procedure is troublesome because. as previously mentioned, the fountains 21 are of the over-shot type and are very diflicult to clean. According to my inventionthe difficulties encountered in such procedure are eliminated by providing an auxiliary narrow width inking device which may be applied directly to a desired one of the printing couples to effect color printing of a desired portion of the web. This auxiliary attachment is designed to be applied directly to the uprights of the frame parts 8 and 8 in which the printing units are supported.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3. and 4, the attachment comprises: a narrow width ink fountain 31, the opposite ends of which are closed by a pair of end plates 38 and 38; a pair of tie rods 48 extending between said plates to hold the same tightly against the body of the fountain; a fountain roller 4|, the shaft 42 of which is journaled at its opposite ends in the end plates 38 and 38; and a ductor roller 43 rotatably supported between the upper ends of a pair of arms 44 and 65 which are rigid on a shaft 48, the latter being also journaled in the end plates 38 and 38.

Continuing the description of Figs. 2 and 3, the attachment is supported on the press frame on a pair of cross rods 41 and 48 which are secured at their opposite ends in brackets 48, the latter being permanently secured to the upright portions of frame parts 8 and 8. The support means, consisting of rods 41 and 48, and brackets 48, is permanently applied, as shown in Fig. 1, to each of the upright portions of frame parts 8 and 8, the attachment itself being so arranged as to be transferable from one couple to another. The end plates 38 and 38 of the fountain are formed with downwardly projecting arms 5| and 52, respectively, upon which are mounted clamping devices 53 for engaging rods 41 and 48. These clamping devices may be of any preferred form, those shown consisting of fixed jaws 54 to which are pivotally secured companion jaws 55, the ends of the latter being bifurcated to receive the shanks of clamping bolts 58 carried by jaws 54. Wing nuts 51 carried by bolts 58 engage against the bifurcated end portions of jaws 55, as shown in Fig. 3, to securely clamp the fountain to rods 41 and 48. The fountain is thus demountably secured to its supporting means, it being removable bodily therefrom by merely opening the clamps. After being detached, the inking unit may be transferred to any other of the units of the press since separate supporting meansis or may be provided on the several units for receiving the attachment. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the attachment is shown as applied to couple I8, of printing unit I3. The attachment could be similarly applied to couple l1 of printing unit H or to either of the couples of printing unit l2.

The inking attachment is not only transferable from one unit of the press to the other, but also is arranged to be shifted transversely of the web to bring it into position for applying ink to that portion of the web to which it is desired to have the color applied. This lateral shifting of the at- H of the cam, as compared to the full diameter between fountain roller 4|, and ink drum 28.

tachment is accomplished by merely loosening clamps 53, whereupon the fountain may be moved along the rods 41 and 48 to the desired point. The width of ink fountain 31 is considerably less than the width of the web. For newspaper 8 presses the fountain would ordinarily be onefourth of the width of the web, this being equivalent to the width of a single page of the paper. It will be apparent, therefore, that if desired, more than one of the inking attachments could be mounted on a single supporting means. In this manner it would be possible to employ a single couple to print two single page portions of the web in color.

The construction of ink fountain 31 is shown in Fig. 5. The ink, indicated at 58, is held in the trough of the fountain between fountain roller 4| and fountain blade 58, the latter being mounted in the usual manner in the base of the trough and having its free edge resting in tangential en gagement with the fountain roller. Adjusting screws 8| are provided to adjust the edge of the blade against the face of the fountain roller. Ductor roller 43 is urged toward fountain roller 4| by a heavy coil spring 82 which connects at 25 one end to an eye-bolt 63 carried by arm 45, the opposite end thereof connecting to a bracket 84 carried by fountain 31. This roller is periodically moved from engagement with fountain roller 4| into engagement with ink drum 28 by means of 30 a cam 55 carried on a shaft 68, the latter being rotatably supported at its opposite ends in arms 5| and 52. An arm 61, which is keyed to the end of shaft 48, is provided with a roller 68 which rides on the peripheral face of cam 65. Cam 85 35 consists of two separate plate sections which have pin and slot connection with one another, as indicated at 69. This provides an adjustment for varying the relative size of the cut-away portion 40 portion 12. It will be apparent that when roller 68 engages portion 12 of the cam, ductor roller 43 will be held in contact with ink drum 28, as shown in Fig. 3. When roller 88 falls against the cut-away portion 1| of the cam, the ductor roller will be pulled by spring 62 into contact with fountain roller 2|, this position of the parts being shown in Fig. 5. The ductor roller is thus arranged to be periodically moved back and forth Means is provided for driving fountain roller 4| from the source of power which drives the printing units, this mechanism being shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to which reference will now be made. A drive shaft 13, journaled at its opposite ends in brackets 49, carries a spur gear 14 which is keyed to the shaft by a key 15, the latter extending longitudinally of the shaft to permit of adjustment'of gear 14 to correspond to the position of the ink fountain. A set screw 18 holds gear 14 in place after the desired adjustment has been obtained. Power is transmitted from gear wheel 14 to shaft 42 of the fountain roller through a system of spur wheels 11, 18, and 18.

is shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The end of shaft 75 13 carries a spur wheel 83 which meshes with a V spur gear 84. .The gear 84 is mounted on a stub shaft 85 which is carried by a clutch plate 86. Plate 881s apertured toreceive the projecting end of shaft. 13 and is provided along one edge with an arcuate slot 81 through which extends a bolt 88, the latterbeing threaded into a lug 89 which projects laterally from bracket 49. Means thereby permitting the necessary pivotal movement of plate 86 on shaft 13. In the driving position gear 84 meshes with a gear 9| which is carried on the hub of spur wheel 36, the latter, as shown in Fig. 1, being driven through gearing 3l35 from the printing cylinder of the couple. Gear 9| also meshes with a spur wheel 92 carried on the spindle of fountain roller 28, the latter being positioned in the regular ink fountain 21 of the couple.

Shaft 13 is thus arranged to be driven from the regular drive mechanism of the press and may be readily disconnected from the chain of drive gears by shifting the position of plate 86.

As an example of the manner in which the attachment may be used, reference is had to Fig. 1, wherein the attachment is shown as applied to couple l8 of printing unit l3. Assuming fountain 31 is positioned on rods 41 and 48, opposite the portion of the web to which it is desired to have the color applied, the regular black fountain 21 of couple I6 is rendered inoperative by removing the ductor roller (not shown) which engages fountain roller '28. The regular supply of black ink to drum 29 and the printing cylinder of the couple is thus cut off, the color being then supplied from auxiliary fountain roller M to drum 29 and from thence, in turn, to the selected portion of the printing cylinder. The web 93 is threaded from the web supply roll upwardly over a guide roller 94, and thence through couple I! wherein one side of the web is printed in black. From this couple the web is threaded through couple l6 wherein the color is printed over the selected portion of the Web on the side opposite that printed in couple l'l. After receiving the colored impression over a portion of its width in couple I6, the web passes over a guide roller 95 and thence through couple M of printing unit l2 wherein a black impression is printed over the full width of the web on the side which has been partly printed in color in couple l6.

It will be apparent that variations in the arrangement of the printing units and the location of the auxiliary inking attachment may be made depending upon the page arrangement and the type of work desired for a particular run of the press. For example, it would be possibleto employ two of the narrow width fountains in a single couple so that two colors could be printed on different parts of the web from a single printing cylinder. Also, for example, in the arrangementshown in Fig. 1, it would be possible to first conduct the web through a unit positioned ahead of unit I3 and having a couple equipped with an auxiliary attachment for printing color on a portion of the web on the side which would subsequently beprinted inyblack in couple ll. With such an arrangement, the web would then be printed on both sides in black over its full width, and also would have portions of either side printed in color. I

The invention greatly simplifies the work of adapting the newspaper press to color work, in that it eliminates the necessity of cleaning out the regular black fountains of the units in order to replace the black ink with ink of the desired color. The attachment is so designed that it may easily be shifted from one unit of the press to the other by the regular press crew, without requiring the assistance of machinists and special mechanics to make the change. sired to run the press in black, the attachment is rendered inoperative by moving clutch plate If it is de-' 86 to non-driving position, after which the regular inking mechanism of the couple in which the attachment was being used may be restored to operative condition by reinserting the ductor roller. Furthermore, the auxiliary attachment may be used, if desired, in conjunction with the regular inking mechanism for the couple to which the attachment is applied, the roller for applying the ink to the plate cylinder of the press in such case being suitably divided in accordance with well known practice so that ink from the regular fountain or ink supply source may be applied to a portion of the web and ink from the auxiliary attachment or attachments applied to the remainder of said web.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a newspaper printing press having a plurality of printing units with ink fountains and permanently-positioned inking mechanism for feeding ink from said fountains to the printing cylinders of the press, of an auxiliary color attachment, comprising a one page wide fountain and means, including a fountain roller, a scraper knife mounted to cooperate with said roller to control the ink flow thereon, and means for adjusting said knife relative to said roller, for feeding ink from said fountain to the permanently-positioned inking mechanism of the. press, said color attachment being adjustable-lengthwise-of the press cylinders and being readily attachable to or detachable from selected press units, whereby the same may be used where needed to print a color impression on any particular page of a newspaper being printed by the press.

2. The combination with a newspaper printing press having a plurality of printing units with ink fountains and permanently-positioned inking mechanism for feeding ink from said fountains to the printing cylinders of the press, of an auxiliary color attachment, comprising a one page wide ink fountain, a reciprocating ductor roller for feeding ink from said fountain to said permanently-positioned inking mechanism, and means driven by the press for operating said ductor roller, said attachment being adjustable lengthwise of the press cylinders and being readily attachable to or detachable fromselected press units, whereby the same may be used where needed to print a color impression on any particular page of a newspaper being printed by the press.

3. The combination-with a newspaper printing press having a plurality of printing units with ink fountains and permanently-positioned inking mechanism for feeding ink from said fountains to the printing cylinders of the press, of an auxiliary color attachment, comprising a one page wide ink fountain, means, including a fountain roller, a scraper knife mounted to cooperate with said roller to control the ink flow thereon, and means for adjusting said knife relative to said roller, for feeding ink from said fountain to the permanently-positioned inking mechanism of the press, each unit of the press having supporting mechanism to which said auxiliary attachment may be secured, said attachment being adjustable on said supporting mechanism lengthwise of the press cylinders and being readily attachable to or detachable from said mechanism, whereby the same may be used where needed to print a color impression on any particular page of a newspaper being printed by the press.

4. The combination with a newspaper printing press having a plurality of printing units with permanently positioned sources of ink supply and inking mechanism for feeding ink from said sources to the printing cylinders of the press, of an auxiliary color attachment, comprising a one page wide ink supply device and means, including a fountain roller, a scraper knife mounted to cooperate with said roller. to control the ink flow thereon, and means for adjusting said knife relative to said roller, for feeding ink from said device to the inking mechanism of the press, said color attachment being adjustable lengthwise of the press cylinders and being readily attachable to or detachable from selected press units, whereby the same may be used where needed to print a color impression on any particular page of a newspaper being printed by the press, said one page wide ink supply device being adapted to serve in substitution for or in conjunction with said permanently positioned source of ink supply, whereby a color impression may be applied to a portion of the web with or without a black or other color impression being applied to another portion of said web.

5. In a newspaper printing press, the combination of a plurality of printing units, each comprising transversely spaced frames, printing cylinders supported by and extending between the upper parts of said frames, drive means for rotating said cylinders, permanently positioned ink supply mechanism supported by said frames beneath said cylinders, and an auxiliary ink supply device comprising supporting members extending between said frames beneath said cylinders, a narrow-width fountain adjustably mounted on said supporting members, means for securing said fountain to said supporting members at a selected position thereon lengthwise of the cylinders, means for feeding ink from said narrowwidth fountain to a portion of said permanently positioned ink supply mechanism, and means operated from the press drive for operating said ink feeding means irrespective of the adjusted position of said fountain.

6. In a newspaper printing press, the combination of a plurality of printing units, each comprising transversely spaced frames, printing cylinders supported by and extending between the upper parts of said frames, drive means for rotating said cylinders, permanently positioned ink supply mechanism supported by said frames beneath said cylinders, and an auxiliary ink supply device comprising supporting members extending between said frames beneath said cylinders, a narrow-width fountain adjustably mounted on said supporting members, means for securing said fountain to. said supporting members at a selected position thereon lengthwise of the cylinders, means for feeding ink from said narrow-width fountain to a portion of said permanently positioned ink supply mechanism, and means operated from the press drive for operatting said ink feeding means irrespective of the adjusted position of said fountain, said press units each comprising two printing couples, and the supporting members, as aforesaid, being mounted on said frames adjacent the printing cylinders of each couple, whereby auxiliary ink supply devices, as above described, may be positioned for operation in conjunction with any printing couple of any unit of the press.

7. In a newspaper printing press, the combination of a plurality of printing units having ink fountains and permanently positioned inking mechanism, each comprising drums and rollers including a ductor roller for feeding ink from said fountains to the printing cylinders of the press, and an auxiliary ink supply device comprising supporting members, a narrow-width fountain adjustably mounted on said members and means, including a reciprocating ductor roller independent of said ductor roller for the main fountain, for feeding ink from said fountain directly to a section (such as a one page wide section) of one of the drums of said permanently positioned inking mechanism. 7

8. In combination with a printing press having spaced frame uprights, printing cylinders supported by and extending between said uprights,

and inking mechanism for supplying ink to one of said cylinders; an auxiliary inking attachment; a frame therefor; a fountain; a fountain roller journaled for free rotation in the end walls of the fountain; meansfor supporting the fountain adjacent the inking mechanism of the press comprising members supported from and extending between said frame uprights; and means for driving the fountain roller comprising a drive shaft extending transversely of the frame, means affording a driving connection between said shaft and the press drive, a gear wheel carried on said shaft, and means operatively connecting said gear wheel with the fountain roller.

9. In combination with a printing press having spaced frame uprights, printing cylinders supported by and extending between said uprights, and inking mechanism for supplying ink to one of said cylinders; an auxiliary inking attachment; a frame therefor; a fountain; a fountain roller journaled for free rotation in the end walls of the fountain; means for supporting the fountain adjacent the inking mechanism of the press comprising members supported from and extending between said frame uprights; a ductor roller, means having pivoted mounting on the fountain for rotatably supporting said ductor roller; means for driving the fountain roller comprising a drive shaft extending transversely of the frame, means affording a driving connection between said shaft and the press drive, a gear wheel carried on said shaft and means operatively connecting said gear wheel with the fountain roller; and cam means operated by said fountain roller driving means for actuating the ductor roller supporting means to move the same back and forth between the fountain roller and the ink drum of the press. 

